Fomer Janata Bank chairman held in loan fraud during Awami League tenure

Dhaka, Jul 11 (PTI) A prominent economist, who served the chairperson of the largest commercial bank in Bangladesh during the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government, has been arrested in a 297 crore Taka (approx USD 24.4 million) fraud case, a media report said Friday.

Abul Barkat, who was the chairperson of the Janata Bank, was detained by the Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch (DB) from the capital’s Dhanmondi area around 11.30 pm on Thursday, DB Joint Commissioner Nasirul Islam said.

Barkat, a former chairman of the Economics Department at Dhaka University and ex-president of the Bangladesh Economic Association, is among 23 individuals named in the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on February 20, the Dhaka Tribune said.

The ACC alleges that Barkat, along with former Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman and others, illegally approved loans to 22 entities under the garment company AnonTex Group using forged documents and unethical means.

The alleged misconduct led to a loss of 297 crore Taka of public funds, the ACC claims.

Hasina fled the country on August 5 last year following a massive student-led agitation. The interim government of Muhammad Yunus, who took over as Chief Adviser, has been filing multiple cases against Hasina, her party colleagues and a number of people holding various posts during her over 15 years of rule in the country. PTI SKS SKS NPK NPK